Need help with the phrase "je n'voulais p'tête pas"

This phrase is from the song "le vide est ton nouveau prenom" by La Femme. To give some context, the entire phrase is je n'voulais p'tête pas te garder dans ma tête, ni dans mon cœur. When I looked up the translation I found it to be translated as "maybe I didn't want..." is this just an expression that can't be explained in english because I know that there are other expressions using the word tête such as "je ne me prends pas la tête."

July 23, 2017

10 Comments

Yes, and the negation is generally simplified colloquially, so 'je n'voulais p'têt'e pas' is still too long, it should be 'j'voulais p'têt'e pas' (4 syllables, instead of 8 in a very formal pronunciation). Since it is a song, they have to fiddle with the number of syllables.

The expression 'se prendre la tête' (to hold one's head) is not completely silly, you know. It is like a shortened version of 'se prendre la tête à deux mains' (to hold one's head with two hands = in one's hands), in exasperation, frustration, disbelief, bafflement, or in front of difficulties that seem insurmountable. So very logically, 'je ne me prends pas la tête' means: 'I do not worry'.

It has another meaning, though: 'se prendre la tête avec quelqu'un' (to have words/an argument with someone), 'prendre la tête à quelqu'un' (to bother/annoy someone with constant bickering), but you end up holding your head in your hands all the same. ;)